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Hasbro's Bluetooth lightsaber lets kids train to become a Jedi
Hasbro has a new toy for the future Jedi in your life. The Star Wars Lightsaber Academy is a suped-up version of the standard lightsaber that comes with its own training exercises and activities built in, according to The Verge. The toy connected to a smartphone app via Bluetooth to provide Jedis-in-training with interactive challenges that teach them to fight like their favorite Star Wars characters.
EA's open-world 'Star Wars' game is no more
Remember EA's open-world Star Wars game that promised bounty hunting across the series' universe? Anyone? No? Doesn't matter, it's been scrapped. EA Vancouver has cancelled the project, reports Kotaku, which it inherited in 2017 after shutting down its subsidiary -- and the title's original developer -- Visceral Games (of Dead Space fame).
Disney's 'Star Wars' theme park trailer takes you inside its rides
Since it snagged LucasFilm for $4.05 billion in 2012, Disney's churned out Star Wars movies, shows, toys, VR experiences and games. But in the background it's been tinkering away on something even more immersive: a full-blown Star Wars theme park. On Christmas Day, Disney dropped a new trailer for the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge theme park and two of its main attractions, "Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run" and "Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance" -- with Disney describing the latter as "the biggest and most immersive Disney Parks attraction ever."
Sphero is done making licensed Disney bots like BB-8 and R2-D2
Say goodbye to Sphero's cute BB-8 robot. In fact, say goodbye to all the company's licensed products, including R2-D2, BB-9E and Cars' Lighting McQueen. According to The Verge, Sphero plans to sell its remaining inventory of licensed toys, but it will no longer manufacture more once it runs out. Indeed, the products' listings on Sphero's website says "This is a legacy product and no longer in production." The company isn't just discontinuing the models, though: It's ending its licensing partnerships completely, because it's no longer worth dedicating resources for their production.
Disney+ series 'The Mandalorian' adds Carl Weathers and Werner Herzog
The slow-drip of information about Disney's live-action Star Wars streaming series continues, and now we know who has been cast in The Mandalorian. The series is written and executive produced by Jon Favreau and will rotate through a list of notable directors, and the same goes for additions to previously-revealed names like Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano and Nick Nolte. Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad, School Daze), Emily Swallow (Supernatural) and Omid Abtahi (American Gods) all jump off the page immediately, but two other names are bigger surprises: Carl Weathers (Rocky, Predator) and Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man). We'll have to wait and see how that collection of people fit into the show, as so far we only know that Pascal has the title role as a "lone Mandalorian gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy." Naturally it's going to be a Disney+ exclusive, and the service is set to launch in the US in late 2019.
'Stranger Things' compilation earns Grammy nomination for Netflix
The 61st Grammy Award nominations were revealed Friday morning and Netflix shows and documentaries were among the nominees once again. Stranger Things picked up a nod for the second season's compilation soundtrack, while a documentary about legendary music producer Quincy Jones called Quincy (which was co-directed by his daughter Rashida) landed a Best Music Film nomination.
Disney adds Nick Nolte to the cast of its 'Star Wars' streaming shows
Disney is quickly solidifying the talent for its Star Wars streaming shows. Variety sources say Nick Nolte has joined the cast of Jon Favreau's The Mandalorian, joining other big names including Pedro Pascal and Gina Carano. There's nothing mentioned about the role Nolte will play (Disney isn't commenting), but the casting is eerily appropriate -- Nolte was one of the candidates to play Han Solo in the original Star Wars movies. Something tells us he won't be playing a smuggler with a heart of gold, though.
Disney introduces Star Wars to kids with a series of animated shorts
If you've wanted to bring your kids into the world of Star Wars but weren't entirely sure if they were ready for the movies, Disney's upcoming animated shorts might be your answer. On November 30th, the company will debut six animated shorts on StarWarsKids.com as well as a new Star Wars Kids YouTube channel, with the goal being to introduce younger audiences to Star Wars stories. More shorts are set to follow in December and throughout 2019. Collectively called Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures, the shorts will pair new animation and scenes with dialogue, music and sound effects from the original films.
Disney+ streaming service will launch in late 2019
Disney released its Q4 earnings on Thursday and, unsurprisingly, the entertainment juggernaut reported revenues in the billions thanks to strong performances from its media networks (ie its upcoming streaming service) and studio entertainment (ie its Marvel, Pixar, Nat Geo and Star Wars IPs).
Genre fans are getting milked by streaming services
Like Thanos at the end of Infinity War, Marvel has culled some of its Netflix universe, canceling both Iron Fist and Luke Cage in the past few weeks. That leaves Daredevil and Jessica Jones as the remaining Defenders on the streaming service, plus spinoff property Punisher. The company promised that this wasn't the last time we'd see either hero, just that it was the end of their respective shows "on Netflix," fueling speculation that they'd be heading to Disney's upcoming streaming service. Now we'll have to cough up even more money if we want to keep up with the continuing adventures of Luke, Colleen, Misty and maybe Danny. (Ed. note: Nobody wants to keep up with Danny.)
The Boba Fett 'Star Wars' movie isn't happening
This week Lucasfilm exec Kathleen Kennedy confirmed to reporter Erick Weber that a standalone Star Wars movie focusing on bounty hunter Boba Fett is no longer in development. While the project had never been officially announced, it was known to be a piece in the parade of "anthology" movies planned in the universe.
Star Wars 'The Mandalorian' image, list of directors revealed
A day after we learned the name of the first live-action Star Wars TV show destined for Disney's unnamed subscription streaming service, the official website has posted this image of The Mandalorian. It's written and executive produced by Jon Favreau, and is expected to premiere next year. We still don't have any details on this Boba Fett-like "lone gunfighter" other than their time period (between the fall of the Empire and before the rise of The First Order) and location on the outer reaches of the galaxy. What has been revealed is an interesting list of directors. While Dave Filoni (Clone Wars) will helm the premiere, others including Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, What We Do In The Shadows), Rick Famuyiwa (Dope), Bryce Dallas Howard (Solemates) and Deborah Chow (The High Cost of Living, Better Call Saul, Man in the High Castle) are also in the queue. That level of talent aligns with what we'd heard about the show's $100 million+ budget, but until the service launches next year we're probably looking at a continual slow-drip of information.
Jon Favreau's streaming 'Star Wars' series is 'The Mandalorian'
We still don't know the name of Disney's subscription streaming service, but we do have some details for a live-action Star Wars show that will appear on it. Jon Favreau announced on Instagram that The Mandalorian is set "after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order," with a "lone gunfighter" emerging in the tradition of Jango and Boba Fett on the outer reaches of the galaxy. Reports have indicated that the series could cost as much as $100 million to make, so the expectations are high. Other live-action shows that we could see when it launches next year are ones focusing on Marvel Cinematic Universe characters like Loki or Scarlet Witch (presumably Favreau is too busy to star in an Iron Man spin-off). We're also expecting new episodes of Star Wars: Clone Wars, so even if some of the older films aren't available right away, fans should have a few reasons to be interested when it arrives.
Lenovo’s ‘Jedi Challenges’ will let you do battle in AR as Kylo Ren
Lenovo has announced a Dark Side Expansion for its Star Wars: Jedi Challenges AR game, a free update that will let players battle Yoda, Rey and others as Kylo Ren. Along with added gameplay features, Lenovo is releasing a limited-edition Lightsaber Controller, just like the one Kylo Ren uses in the films, that glows while users are playing.
'Ant-Man and The Wasp' will be the last Marvel movie to hit Netflix
Sometime after Ant-Man and the Wasp finishes its theatrical run, it will stream on Netflix. But that's the last Marvel Studios movie that will appear on the service, the New York Times reports. Starting with Captain Marvel, all Disney movies will land on the Mouse House's upcoming streaming platform instead. So, Marvel fans will have to head to theaters find out the resolution to that Avengers: Infinity War cliffhanger, or catch the fourth Avengers movie on home video or Disney's own streaming platform.
Disney's streaming service may not launch with original Star Wars movies
Of all the companies and networks that have announced or launched standalone streaming services recently, Disney's probably makes the most sense. After all, the company has such a large catalog of content, going back decades. What's more, they own both Marvel and Star Wars, franchises with enough power to draw people to a streaming service. But now, there may be trouble with some of the Star Wars rights.
Leia is in 'Star Wars: Episode IX' thanks to old Carrie Fisher footage
Star Wars: Episode IX will begin production on August 1st, Lucasfilm announced today. The film will also feature a surprising cast member: Carrie Fisher will reprise the role of Leia, using footage she previously shot for The Force Awakens. We heard that Lucasfilm would potentially use Fisher's old material last year, but producer Kathleen Kennedy shot those rumors down, claiming at the time that Leia wouldn't be in the next film. But of course, that was before we knew J.J. Abrams would be returning to direct and re-write the film (together with Chris Terrio), following Collin Trevorrow's ousting.
'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' to return on Disney's streaming service
The original run of Star Wars: The Clone Wars ended after five seasons and a bundle of "Lost Missions" episodes on Netflix, but now the CGI series is coming back. Today at Comic-Con supervising director Dave Filoni made a surprise announcement that a new 12-episode season will arrive on Disney's upcoming streaming service, complete with the poster above and a brief trailer. Disney CEO Bob Iger had promised a "few" Star Wars series in development for the new service, and now it's clear that this is one, joining a live-action show from Jon Favreau. The (still-canon) Clone Wars makes sense, with a fan base already set up and a storyline ready to pick up after its main character has just left the Jedi Order. Entertainment Tonight notes that in 2014, one of the writers told a fan that scripts for season seven and eight were already written, but it remains to be seen how long the revival will last.
The original Lando Calrissian is reportedly coming back to 'Star Wars'
Donald Glover might have done a bang-up job as Lando Calrissian, but we're sure fans would still love to see the character's original actor again. According to The Hollywood Reporter, that's exactly what's happening in Episode IX. Billy Dee Williams is reportedly reprising his role as the slick, cape-loving smuggler in the main Star Wars movies' next installment. The last time Williams portrayed Calrissian on the big screen was in Return of the Jedi back in 1983, though he's voiced the character in cartoon series and video games since then.
After Math: Stay cool
It's been a sweltering week with much of the country swaddled in a record-setting heat wave but that hasn't slowed the tech industry. Netflix is reportedly considering a new HDR-enabled pricing tier for its service, a pair of people were awarded $5 million in their lawsuit against the Fyre Festival, NASA debuted a new heat shield to keep its sun-bound probe from burning up, and Facebook is in talks to host a reality show starring the hottest man on the pitch, Cristiano Ronaldo.